Police seal off Istanbul square after protests

A bulldozer clears construction materials used by protesters to make barricades in Taksim square, in Istanbul, Turkey Sunday, June 16, 2013. Turkish riot police firing tear gas and water cannon took less than half an hour on Saturday to bring to an end an 18-day occupation of an Istanbul park at the center of the strongest challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year tenure. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

ISTANBUL — Police in Istanbul have cordoned off the city’s Taksim Square to traffic and pedestrians after clearing out protesters occupying a park in a show of discontent with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year tenure.

Skirmishes continued into the early hours of Sunday between police and protesters attempting to return to Taksim. Police fired tear gas and took control of roads leading to Taksim.

Bulldozers meanwhile, cleared out all signs of the two-week long sit-in at Taksim’s Gezi Park.

The protests began as an environmental sit-in to prevent a development project at Gezi but spiraled into wider anti-government demonstrations.

Police swept through the area on Saturday after a group of protesters vowed to stay at the park despite Erdogan’s promise to suspend redevelopment plans pending court rulings and a referendum.